Diagnosing coronary artery disease in women is often difficult because women have smaller, more slender coronary arteries. In almost half the cases, the cause of chest pain in women cannot be determined, even by angiography.

The new test, called phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, requires women to simply squeeze a handgrip while lying inside an MRI unit. The unit scans measures the levels of two phosphates found in heart tissue. The two phosphates occur naturally and supply the energy source for the heart. A large drop in the ratio of these phosphates is considered to be a sign that heart tissue is not getting enough oxygen-rich blood.

Coronary artery disease is the biggest killer of both men and women. Although women are about as likely to have a heart attack as men are, they are more likely to die after their first heart attack. Symptoms of a heart attack are often different in women, and about 35 percent of heart attacks in women go unnoticed or unreported to physicians.

The study suggests that the test may be useful to evaluate women with chest pain, particularly if standard tests do not uncover a cause for the recurring pain. However, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is currently available only at a few institutions and academic medical centers.

To read related news stories, click on any of the following:
Women with short legs at heart disease risk -study
Women in power, beware heart problems
Biomarkers may predict diabetes in women

For additional information, visit HeartCenterOnline's:
Cardiovascular Disease & Women
Heart Attack & Women Heart Attack Center
Women's Center